Preservative injection machine



June 17, 1969 R. E. BAKER 3,450,73

PRESERVATIVE INJECTION MACHINE Filed June 21, 1967 INVENTOR. ROY E. BAKER ATTORNEY Jun 17, 1969 R, E, BAKER I 3,450,073

PRESERVATIVE INJECTION MACHINE Filed June 21, 1967 Sheet 2 'of 2 INVENTOR RoY E. BAKER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,450,073 PRESERVATIVE INJECTION MACHINE Roy E. Baker, 4370 Kendrick St., Golden, Colo. 80401 Filed June 21, 1967, Ser. No. 647,708

Int. Cl. B27k 3/02 U.S. Cl. 111-6 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention In order to avoid excessive replacement of wood utility poles, most all poles now used are treated with various compounds before they are placed in service. Even though. wood poles have been treated, however, it has been noted that they are still subject to deterioration. Under some ground conditions the poles deteriorate faster than in other conditions. In general, the most severe damage to buried poles occurs in a zone extending from the ground line down a distance of 3 to feet. The bottom end of the pole which may extend several feet beyond such zone is in most installations not as severely deteriorated.

In order to extend the service life of utility poles, it would, accordingly, seem advisable to increase the protection available in the described deterioration zone. From service records it has also been determined that it is sometimes worthwhile to represerve poles that have once been used at on-site locations and that have been removed for later reinstallation at a new site. Poles that have been in service for a period of years are, accordingly, sometimes represerved before they are reinstalled on another service line. This represervation step can materially increase the overall service life of the pole and can contribute to a lower overall upkeep and maintenance cost. The present invention is intended to provide a mechanism and system for the in-place represervation of wooden utility poles.

Summary of the invention As an alternative to removal or the uncovering of utility poles so that preservative can be reapplied to the poles in the high deterioration zone, the present invention provides a mechanism which may be engaged to a pole at an onsite location to drive a probe element downwardly into the ground in positions of close proximity to the pole. With probe penetration to the desired depth a preservative compound is delivered through the probes to be expelled outwardly into the utility pole and the surrounding ground with such injection operation being continuable as the probe is being retracted upwardly and out of the ground to apply additional preservative at other elevations.

In addition to the described system for the represervation of utility poles, the invention provides a mechanism suitable for practice of the invention. The mechanism includes pole engaging elements and means for holding the pole engaging elements in desired position about a utility pole as force is exerted to extend the probe elements downwardly away from the pole engaging compoments and into the ground closely adjacent to the buried pole. High pressure apparatus is further provided for the delivery and expulsion of preservative compounds out of the probe injectors. Separate boom and hoist apparatus may be provided for holding the pole engaging elements against the pole or the pole engaging elements can be provided as a separate attachment to be anchored on the pole as necessary to withstand the probe injecting forces. For a unit utilizing a hydraulic power source, a pressure boost cylinder is provided for injecting the preservative at a pressure in excess of the available hydraulic operating pressure.

Brie description of the drawings The features of mechanisms that are useful in the practice of the invention are shown in the accompanying figures, in which FIG. 1 is a partial side elevation showing components of the invention in an assembled relationship,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the components of the invention in a non-operative or carry position.-

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation through a preservative pressurizing cylinder,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation with parts shown in alternate position illustrating a pole engaging attachment made in accordance with this invention,

FIG. 5 is a top plan view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4 showing a pole gripping element,

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a top plan view in partial section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 4 to show a probe mounting element,

FIG. 8 is an elevation taken along the line 88 of FIG. 7 showing further features of the probe components and the mount therefor, and

FIG. 9 is a top plan view taken similar to FIG. 5 showing a modified pole gripping element.

Description of the preferred embodiments FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an overall configuration for an embodiment of this invention in which the pole treatment attachment 11 is operatively supported by a boom hoist mechanism mounted on a service truck 12. The hoist apparatus includes an upright standard 13, an outwardly extending boom 14, and a boom hoist cylinder 16. Through cooperative use of these elements the attachment 11 may be moved up, down, in or out as necessary to bring the attachment into contact with an in-place utility pole. For this preferred embodiment, a hydraulic power source is used, and, accordingly, the extension or retraction of the hydraulic cylinders is controlled by individual valves of the control bank 18. If the 4-Way valve 19 is connected to the boom hoist cylinder 16, the boom 14 will be raised and lowered by manipulation of the control valve 19. With the control valve 21 connected to a boom extension cylinder 17, telescoping boom extension 22 can be moved reciprocally in and out of the boom support tube 23.

With the attachment 11 engaged against the utility pole 20, as shown in FIG. 4, the 4-way valve 24 which is interconnected to the probe drive cylinder 26 on attachment 11 by the lines 27 can be extended or retracted by manipulation of the valve 24. In use the cylinder 26 will initially be retracted as the attachment is moved into engagement with an untreated pole 20. A pair of probes 31 will then be disposed above the ground line but in close proximity to the sides of the utility pole. The probes 31 are mounted on pivotally movable arms 32 engaged to probe carrier 33 by means of the pivots 34, and a spring 36 is biased to hold the arms 32 and probes 31 inwardly. With such arrangement the probes will be brought into close engagement with the sides of the poles whenever the arms 32 are forcibly moved into engagement therewith.

Probe carrier 33 is attached to a shaft 37 which is adapted to move reciprocally within the cylindrical support housing 38 of attachment 11. A clevis 39 on shaft 40 of probe drive cylinder 26 is attached to the platform of the probe support 33 so that such platform may be moved reciprocally with respect to the support housing 38 and the barrel of the probe drive cylinder 26. If the boom hoist cylinder 16 and the boom components are rigidly held in position, extension of the probe drive cylinder 26 will cause extension of the shafts 37 and 40 with consequent movement of the probe support 33 and probes 31.

By this action the probes 31 can be extended downwardly into the ground in position alongside the utility pole. When the probe has been sufiiciently extended, preservative materials may be injected through the hollow central passage 40 of the probes 31 for expulsion through the openings 41. By this operation a desired quantity of preservative materials may be injected under high pressure into the earth structure 42 surrounding the utility poles. Necessarily, a quantity of such preservative will be directed against the pole itself to provide direct contact with the pole. Desirably the preservative to be used will be of liquid form. Where a liquid is used, the hydraulic power source that is already available for hoist and probe drive operations can be used to power the forcible injection of the preservative. A supply of preservative retained in a tank 43 may be introduced into the pump half 44 of a double element injector mechanism 46 which utilizes a common shaft 47 interconnecting a pump piston 48 and a drive piston 49 operating in a hydraulic cylinder component 51 of said injector mechanism 46.

If the hydraulic cylinder component 51 is connected through a 4-way control valve 52, the hydraulic power available on the vehicle can be selectively used to move the piston 49 reciprocally in the cylinder 51. A ball check valve 53 is provided in a supply line 54 from the preservative tank 43 to the pump cylinder 44. Ball check valve 53 permits the introduction of preservative into the pump chamber 56 as the pistons 49 and 48 are retracted. On reverse movement of the pistons the preservative in the pump chamber 56 will be pressurized as the ball check valve 53 is moved to a closed position. The pressurized fluid preservative will be expelled through the line 57 connected to the probes 31. A ball check valve 58in the preservative pressure line 57, of course, operates to prevent a back flow from such pressurized line 57 when the pistons 48 and 49 are moving in an opposite direction. Since the diameter of the piston 48 is less than the diameter of the piston 49, the injection pressure available for expulsion of the preservative out of the probes 31 can be greater than the operating pressure for the hydraulic system.

The use of the hydraulic power source to pump and distribute the preservative compound or to superpressurize the expulsion operations for injection of the preservative present a beneficial combination that may in some instances be necessary for the successful use of the combined apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The application of pressure to the preservative discharge lines 57 as the probe cylinder 26 is being actuated to move the probe into the ground is recommended, since the application of less than full preservative injecting pressure can help to keep small granular materials from clogging the injector openings 41 in the probes 31.

Since the described embodiment of the invention is intended for the use and benefit of utility companies and since it is recognized that many utilities already have trucks equipped with boom and hoist apparatus, it should be understood that the injector mechanism 11 may be provided as a separate attachment that could be positioned at utility poles by different types of hoist mechanisms. Where the attachment is to be used with a cable or non-rigid type of hoist mechanism, the upper guide collar 61 which is attached to the housing 38 can provide means for secure engagement of the attachment 11 to utility poles that are to be treated. As shown in FIG. 9, the fork arms 62 of collar 61 which are of a shape and design to surround the utility pole can be provided with a mechanically or hydraulically actuated dog 63 to forcibly bring gripper teeth 64 into contact with the utility pole 20 to hold the attachment 11 in position on the pole as the probe cylinder is actuated to drive the probe into the ground. A cylinder 66 connected to the lever arm 67 or a similar mechanical device can be used for this purpose.

With the described modifications the pole itself be comes the anchor for the forcible introduction of the probes into the ground at the base of the pole. When the unit is provided as a separate attachment as described, the preservative can be pressurized by a separate pump mechanism or by an injector mechanism 46 of the type shown. Since hydraulic power is widely used for truckboom manipulations, an already available power source could be used to derive the required preservative injector pressure.

While separate embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it should be apparent that the invention is adaptable to various modifications and changes. All modified configurations coming within the scope of the appended claims are considered to be a part of this invention.

I claim:

1. A device for applying wood preservative materials to in-place poles disposed in earth structures comprising a supporting housing, means for holding said housing in position on the pole, a probe carrier on said housing for movement along said pole, a probe unit including at least one probe on said carrier extending downwardly therefrom for penetration of the earth structure adjacent the pole, said probe providing a flow passage for introduction of the preservative materials, and pressure apparatus for forcibly ejecting preservatives from said probe.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said probe carrier moves reciprocally along said pole.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means comprises pole engaging elements on said housing.

4. -A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said pole engaging elements are movable toward and away from the center of the pole and further comprising powered apparatus for forcibly engaging said elements with the pole.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said probe carrier is a multi-piece component with separate pieces being positioned to closely engage separate sides of said poles which may be of a varying size.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein a plurality of probes are present and are positioned on said separate pieces of said probe carrier.

7. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means comprises a hoist apparatus for forcibly holding the housing in place at said pole.

8. A device as set forth in claim 7 and further comprising a hydraulic system for positioning said hoist.

9. A device. as set forth in claim 8 and further comprising a hydraulic powered system for pressurizing said preservative.

10. A device as set forth in claim 1 and further comprising a hydraulic powered system for pressurizing said preservative.

11. A device as set forth in claim 10 and further comprising a pump for pressurizing said preservative, and means interconnecting said pump and hydraulic system for driving said pump.

12. A device as set forth in claim 11 wherein said preservative pump is of a reciprocating piston type and wherein said hydraulic system includes a hydraulic cylinder for reciprocating said pump piston.

(References on following page) UNITED References Cited 3,136,274 6/1964 Townsend 111-6 3,397,542 8/1968 M0111d11 175-21 XR glalzlran fi g MORRIS 0. WOLK, Primary Examiner. Q 5 BARRY s. RICHMAN, Assistant Examiner. Roosen 175-19 XR Cullinan et a1. 175 21 XR CL Wessel 111-89 217,62, 63,73; 111 s9; 175 21, 19 

